Ski Films No Uphill Battle For Producer

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — As the first sprinkling of snow mantles the Sierra and Rockies, movie producer Warren Miller prepares for his 36th year of making ski films, a genuine labor of love.

Miller and his camera are familiar sights to denizens of Sun Valley, Vail, Aspen, Park City, Tahoe, Taos and other western resorts as well as ski mountains around the world.

He has produced 250 ski films, ranging from 10 to 90 minutes in length, which he personally projects and narrates around the globe, thrilling veteran skiers and persuading non-skiers to give the sport a try.

An avid skier himself who is on the slopes 70 or 80 days a year, Miller contends he has the best job imaginable.

When he began filming skiers in action it was an entirely different sport. Skis were simply wooden slats, bindings were crude leather straps, poles were bamboo and boots were enormous, awkward lace-up affairs.

There were, moreover, only three chair lifts in Colorodo, two in Utah, one each in Washington and Oregon and four in Sun Valley, Idaho, where lifts were invented by Union Pacific Railroad engineers.

From the beginning, Miller was his own writer, director, producer, cinematographer and editor. He still does almost all his own work.

But what can a guy do year after year with skiers who mostly plunge downhill on slats surrounded by breathtaking scenery?

``Good question,`` Miller said amiably. ``There are only three things to do on skis: go straight down, turn right or turn left.

``It`s the customs, backgrounds, apres-ski and excitement that makes the difference. But there is a magnetic attraction between skiers and movies involving the sport.

``No matter where I show my films, on college campuses or in regular theaters, I play to full houses. Thousands of skiers insist on bringing their non-skiing friends to see what they are all frenzied about.

``I estimate 60 percent of my audiences are skiers and 40 percent have never been on skis. Between 20 percent and 25 percent of those newcomers take up skiing after seeing my films.

``It`s an odd thing, but Los Angeles, which never sees a snow flake, has more skiers than any city in the country.

``In 1945 when I began making films there were only 10,000 skiers in the United States. There are 14 million today.

``Vail, Mammoth and Aspen sleep 20,000 skiers each a night. Mammoth alone has 1,400 employees. Skiing is a multibillion-dollar business in this country.``

Some of those bucks go into Miller`s pocket. He charges $7 a ticket for his 90-minute films. In Los Angeles he puts on his show for 14 nights. He shows his movies and gives his lectures 50 nights a year. In Portland, Ore., for instance, he drew 12,000 people on four consecutive nights.

Unlike Hollywood filmmakers, Miller`s overhead is minimal. He never spends more than $500,000 for a 90-minute ski film. He also sells video cassettes for a tidy $59.95 each.